GIFT  OF 


[o.  Rec.  142 


THE  SCHOOL  AS  A  FACTOR 

IN  NEIGHBORHOOD 

DEVELOPMENT 


BY 


CLARENCE  ARTHUR  PERRY 


Reprint  from  the  Proceedings  of 

The  National  Conference  of  Charities  and  Correction 

Memphis,  Tenn.,  May,  1914 

Reprint  No.  20 


DEPARTMENT  OF  RECREATION 

RUSSELL  SAGE  FOUNDATION 

130  East  22nd  Street 

New  York  City 


Price  5  Cents 


11-14-10 


THE  SCHOOL  AS  A  FACTOR  IN  NEIGHBORHOOD  DEVELOPMENT 


Clarence  Arthur  Perry,  Russell  Sage  Foundation,  New  York  City. 

There  are  two  ways  of  regarding  the  school  as  a  social  center. 
According  to  one  it  is  the  machinery  which  society  has  contrived  for 
preparing  its  immature  members  for  the  responsibilities  of  citizenship 
and  it  operates  through  little  working  plants  which  are  centrally  lo- 
cated in  the  communities  they  serve.  Points  from  which  certain  in- 
tellectual and  other  commodities  are  distributed — such  are  schools  in 
the  older  and  broader  sense. 

In  this  sense  the  school's  function  is  rapidly  broadening.  School 
plants  are  now  in  various  places  centers  of  both  mental  training  and 
bodily  training,  and  for  adults  as  well  as  children.  But  also  they 
are  becoming  the  places  whefre  neighbors  vote,  discuss  common  affairs, 
view  beautiful  pictures,  hear  music,  dance  and  play.  As  an  institu- 
tion through  which  society  discharges  certain  functions  it  is  gradually 
changing  its  character  and  while  the  dynamic  forces  are  social  needs 
the  reason  why  the  school  has  been  selected  as  the  place  for  meeting 
them  is  to  be  found  in  its  central  relation  to  those  portions  of  the 
population  which  are  known  as  neighborhoods. 

In  the  second  and  narrower  sense  the  name  "social  center"  is  given 
to  certain  schools  where,  after  the  day  sessions  are  over,  staffs  of  paid 
or  volunteer  workers  come  in  to  carry  on  various  civic,  social  and 
recreational  activities.  That  is,  it  is  the  term  applied  to  that  part  of 
the  school's  organization  which  is  discharging  some  of  the  newer 
functions  being  performed  by  the  school  in  the  first-mentioned  and 
larger  sense.  Social  center  in  the  second  sense  is  included  in  social 
center  in  the  first  sense. 

In  both  of  these  meanings  school  centers  affect  neighborhood  de- 
velopment, but  in  the  limited  time  at  our  disposal  only  the  more  salient 
points  under  each  can  be  touched  upon,  and  under  the  first  and  broader 
signification  my  remarks  will  merely  enumerate  some  of  the  more 
striking  events  that  are  indicative  of  the  rapidity  with  which  school 
extension  is  actually  taking  place. 

Elevating  Political  Life 

During  the  winter  before  last  school  buildings  in  31  cities  to  the 
number  of  over  500,  -were  used  for  voting  purposes.  Boston  has  for 
several  years  now  used  a  large  number  of  schoolhouse  basements  for 
this  purpose,  and  has  developed  special  equipment  which  is  stored 


away  when  not  in  use.  In  Milwaukee  the  basements  are  also  used. 
There  is  no  question  but  that  the  growing  extension  of  the  suffrage 
to  women  is  furthering  the  use  of  school  buildings  for  political  purposes. 
This  was  notably  exemplified  in  Chicago  during  the  recent  municipal 
^election.  One  hundred  and  forty-two  political  meetings  were  held  in 
school  buildings  and  the  Board  of  Education  reports  that  in  no  case 
was  it  necessary  to  require  the  forfeiture  of  the  $25  deposit  be- 
cause of  damage  or  infraction  of  the  rules  of  the  board.  No  smoking 
was  permitted,  and  no  indications  of  disorder  were  apparent  after 
the  audiences  had  left  the  premises.  Seventy-five  of  the  Chicago  schools 
were  also  used  as  polling  places  and  in  only  six  instances  were  there 
any  complaints  about  smoking  or  other  violations  of  the  rules  prescribed 
by  the  school  officials.  Chicago  is  certainly  to  be  congratulated  upon 
the  excellent  example  it  has  set  in  the  devotion  of  its  school  buildings 
to  political  purposes.  Throughout  the  country  there  is  a  growing  tend- 
ency to  resort  to  school  buildings  for  deliberation  upon  matters  of  civic 
and  political  import.  At  the  present  time  discussions  of  the  proposed 
new  charter  for  Buffalo  are  being  held  in  public  school  buildings  of  that 
city.  During  the  past  winter  Springfield,  Illinois,  has  considered  various 
referendum  propositions  in  its  school  buildings  with  decided  success. 
In  preparation  for  the  constitutional  convention  in  Ohio  discussions 
of  proposed  amendments  were  held  in  many  schoolhouses  throughout 
the  state.  And  it  is  notable  also  that  wherever  the  initiative  and 
referendum  prevail  there  you  will  find  a  tendency  to  resort  to  the 
natural  meeting  place  for  the  neighborhood  when  it  wants  to  talk 
things  over — the  public  school. 

New  Community  Services 

Another  striking  feature  of  the  movement  is  the  growing  tendency 
to  adapt  the  school  plant  physically  for  a  more  general  community  use. 
The  new  Washington  Irving  High  School  in  New  York  City  has  a  lobby 
specially  constructed  to  serve  as  an  art  gallery  and  it  is  now  being  so 
used.  Its  stage  is  completely  equipped  for  presentations  of  bona  fide 
drama.  Its  offices  include  an  employment  bureau  and  a  room  for  the 
local  neighborhood  association,  also  used  as  a  museum.  Here  were  ex- 
hibited the  manuscrips  of  Washington  Irving,  whose  residence  still  stands 
across  the  street  from  the  school.  The  evening  school  is  so  organized 
here  that  the  night  students  can  come  directly  from  their  places 
work,  have  supper  in  the  lunch  rooms,  recreation  .in  the  gymnasiums 
and  take  up  their  studies  with  refreshed  minds  and  bodies. 

Tomorrow  Mrs.  Breckinridge  will  tell  you  about  the  new  Lincoln 
School  in  Lexington,  another  school  plant  which  has  been  specially 
designed  to  meet  neighborhood  needs  of  more  than  academic  character. 
Every  now  and  then  in  the  educational  journals  one  sees  accounts  of 
school  buildings  in  the  smaller  communities  similar  to  the  Cordaville 
School  at  Southboro,  Massachusetts,  where  a  public  library  and  town 
meeting  place  are  provided  in  addition  to  the  usual  equipment.  The 


305776 


schools  at  Gary,  Indiana,  with  their  extensive  playgrounds  and  luxurious 
gymnasiums  and  swimming  pools  are  well-known  and  are  the  precursors 
of  a  type  which  is  increasing  in  popularity. 

In  Natchez,  Mississippi,  a  former  wealthy  citizen  has  recently  built 
a  model  school  as  a  memorial  to  his  family  which  is  remarkably  well 
equipped  as  a  neighborhood  center.  The  most  striking  feature  is  the 
library,  with  its  reading  room,  reference  room,  stacks  and  delivery 
desk.  The  success  which  Grand  Rapids  is  having  in  using  its  public 
schools  as  branch  libraries  justifies  this  sort  of  addition  to  the  public 
school  building.  A  large  swimming  pool  and  fully  equipped  gymnasium 
are  also  to  be  found  in  the  Carpenter  School  at  Natchez.  The  assembly 
room,  which  is  composed  of  twro  class  rooms  separated  by  a  sliding 
partition,  is  unfortunately  located  on  the  second  floor.  While  in  this 
respect  the  building  does  not  come  up  to  the  standard  which  holds  now 
in 'many  cities  for  ward  school  buildings,  the  other  features  are  indeed 
notable. 

Class-rooms  Becoming  Club-rooms 

Another  marked  development  that  is  adding  to  the  utility  of  class- 
rooms is  found  in  the  increasing  vogue  of  movable  chairs  and  desks. 
The  Washington  Irving  High  School  already  mentioned  is  equipped 
throughout — with  the  exception  of  several  special  rooms — with  flat- 
topped  tables  and  ordinary  oak  chairs.  The  Moulthrop  movable  chair 
is  now  to  be  found  in  over  200  communities,  in  several  places  entire 
schools  having  been  equipped  with  them.  New  York  City  has  just 
given  a  contract  for  Moulthrop  chairs  for  a  new  Brooklyn  school,  and 
it  has  been  adopted  for  all  of  the  city's  open-air  schools.  In  Chicago 
and  other  cities  where  it  is  being  tried,  it  is  reported  successful  from 
both  the  academic  and  social  standpoints. 

A  new  movable  chair  has  been  developed  by  Mr.  Van  Evrie  Kil- 
patrick,  a  long-time  principal  of  one  of  New  York's  public  schools,  which 
seems  destined  to  a  wide  usefulness.  New  York  City  has  already  con- 
tracted to  equip  one  entire  school  with  this  new  desk  and  chair.  It 
is  of  a  two-unit  type,  and  has  the  advantage  that  the  desks  can  be  put 
in  a  line  around  the  walls  and  the  chairs  brought  out  into  the  room 
for  meetings  and  club  purposes. 

Such  briefly  are  some  of  the  more  salient  aspects  of  the  broadening 
function  of  the  school.  The  list  is  especially  incomplete  in  that  it 
does  not  include  the  very  striking  development  of  recreational  and  social 
activities,  a  fault  which  will  be  repaired,  however,  in  the  second  half  of 
the  paper  to  which  we  have  now  come. 

Taking  up  now  the  social  center  in  the  narrower  and  more  popular 
sense,  as  an  institution  having  a  specially  trained  staff  operating  on 
the  school  premises  after  the  day  classes  have  departed:  How  dc 
the  various  social  centers  differ  in  the  service  they  perform  for  theii 
neighborhoods  and  the  relation  which  they  bear  to  them?  To  illustrate 
the  principal  varieties  of  this  work  from  the  standpoint  of  neighborhood 


development  I  have  selected  several  types  of  social  center  administra- 
tion. The  inclusion  or  the  omission  of  any  city  is  not  to  be  regarded 
as  a  commentary  upon  the  character  of  its  work.  The  cities  selected 
are  those  with  whose  work  I  happened  to  be  best  acquainted  and  in 
discriminating  between  them  and  in  my  characterizations  of  them  I  do 
not  wish  to  be  regarded  as  either  criticizing  or  praising  the  persons 
who  are  directing  the  various  systems.  Often  the  type  of  work  they  are 
conducting  is  determined  by  circumstances  over  which  they  have  no 
control. 

Furnishing  a  Wholesome  Evening  Environment 

Perhaps  the  most  prevalent  type  of  social  center  work  is  illustrated 
by  that  which  is  carried  on  in  the  Chicago  schools.  Here  we  find  in 
some  two  dozen  public  schools  groups  of  principals  and  teachers  re- 
turning to  the  schools  twice  a  week  for  the  purpose  of  affording  young 
people  from  fifteen  to  twenty-five  the  privileges  of  a  reading  room, 
parlor  games,  gymnasium,  club  rooms,  choruses,  amateur  orchestras, 
dramatics,  debating  clubs,  dancing,  etc.  While  the  principal",  of  the 
various  centers  are  given  entire  freedom  in  getting  up  their  programs, 
the  work  is  nevertheless  much  the  same  in  all  the  schools.  The  prin- 
cipals hold  conferences  three  or  four  times  a  year  and  through  the 
comparison  of  notes  and  the  similarity  of  the  accommodations  in  the 
various  schools  a  uniformity  of  administration  naturally  arises.  Ama- 
teur theatricals  are  stimulated  by  making  it  possible  for  a  good  play 
to  be  presented  in  several  schools,  and  in  ^he  Smyth  center  opportunities 
for  social  dancing  are  provided  on  an  **extra  evening  for  the  definite 
purpose  of  off-setting  the  influence  of  nearby  dance-halls.  The  Chicago 
Women's  Aid  is  co-operating  with  the  Board  of  Education  in  the  main- 
tenance of  this  center  and  through  their  help  activities  have  been  pro- 
vided for  adults  as  well  as  young  people. 

What  these  centers  mean  to  the  twenty-four  neighborhoods  in  which 
they  exist  is  embraced  largely,  however,  in  the  effect  they  are  having 
upon  the  standards  of  demeanor  and  personal  conduct  of  the  young 
people  of  the  various  neighborhoods  in  which  they  exist.  These  boys 
and  girls  are  coming  in  contact  with  forms  of  etiquette  and  social  life 
which  are  probably  superior  to  those  which  obtain  in  many  of  their 
homes.  While  most  of  the  principals  do  not  live  in  the  neighborhood 
of  their  centers,  yet  through  their  day  contact  with  the  children  they 
are  intimately  acquainted  with  the  social  and  living  conditions  in  their 
respective  districts.  So  far  not  much  effort  has  been  made  to  reach 
the  adults  through  the  Chicago  centers,  but  a  start  is  now  being  made 
through  the  encouragement  of  parent-teacher  associations. 

In  Detroit  one  finds  a  similar  kind  of  development,  that  is,  the 
aim  is  to  provide  a  wholesome,  enjoyable  environment  for  boys  and 
girls  of  the  adolescent  period.  Much  emphasis  is  laid  upon  the  activities 
promoting  physical  education ;  civic  motives  are  also  quite  prominent. 


An  effort  is  made  to  give  the  girls  from  immigrant  homes  lessons  in 
cooking  and  dressmaking,  while  the  boys  are  afforded  opportunities  for 
manual  training ;  in  that  way  the  assimilation  of  the  more  recent  immi- 
grants is  promoted.  But  the  adults  of  the  various  neighborhoods  are 
not  very  generally  reached. 

The  Boston  evening  centers  are  all  housed  in  high  school  buildings, 
so  that  their  patrons  come  from  sections  instead  of  neighborhoods.  As 
might  be  expected,  the  activities  have  a  decided  cultural  emphasis. 
Orchestras,  brass  bands,  banjo  clubs,  and  choruses,  as  well  as  dramatic 
and  art  embroidery  clubs,  are  very  common.  The  club  idea  is  promi- 
nent and  an  effort  is  made  to  inculcate  the  principles  of  self-government 
in  all  the  groups.  Adult  welfare  clubs  which  meet  regularly  to  discuss 
current  civic  questions  are  connected  with  several  of  the  centers,  but 
they  have  practically  no  part  in  the  management  of  the  work.  The 
Boston  centers  have  large  attendances  and  are  successfully  exercising 
a  valuable  educational  and  recreational  influence  upon  the  lives  of  their 
clientele.  There  is  a  conscious  motive  to  promote  self-government,  but 
it  has  not  yet  changed  the  plan  of  work  to  the  point  of  giving  the  young 
people  real  administrative  responsibilities  as  a  means  of  attaining 
that  end. 

Stimulating  Civic  Spirit 

The  Rochester  social  centers,  as  organized  by  Mr.  Ward,  while  in- 
cluding a  very  thorough  recreation  program,  revealed  nevertheless  a  more 
conscious  effort  to  affect  neighborhood  development  than  had  hitherto 
been  shown  in  school  extension  work.  The  aim  there  from  the  outset 
was  to  make  the  schoolhouse  the  center  for  all  classes  of  people — adults 
as  well  as  young  people.  So  that  while  there  were  game  rooms  and 
gymnastic  classes,  the  most  significant  features  were  to  be  found  in  the 
/civic  clubs  which  were  organized  among  the  men,  the  women,  and  the 
I  young  people.  These  clubs  came  from  the  immediate  neighborhoods, 
and  they  discussed  local  questions,  the  majority  of  them  having  a 
municipal  import  rather  than  a  strictly  neighborhood  one.  The  women's 
clubs  entertained  the  men's  clubs,  and  both  took  turns  in  conducting 
the  general  Saturday  night  occasions.  There  was  a  league  of  the  men's 
civic  clubs  which  accomplished  much  in  promoting  playgrounds,  se- 
curing better  street  car  service,  establishing  public  comfort  stations, 
and  similar  municipal  improvements.  While  a  very  strong  civic  inter- 
est was  thus  developed,  these  clubs  did  not  participate  largely  and  re- 
sponsibly in  the  management  of  their  own  activities,  and  therein  may 
be  found  one  of  the  reasons  why,  when  the  board  of  education  cut  off 
the  funds  for  their  administration  and  direction,  they  practically  all 
went  out  of  existence. 

In  Louisville  the  Board  of  Education  gives  only  heat,  light  and 
janitor  service.  All  the  expense  of  direction  and  supervision  is  borne 
by  the  voluntary  organizations  which  brought  the  centers  into  existence 


and  are  now  conducting  them.  The  work  began  three  years  ago  and  is 
growing  larger  each  year,  five  centers  now  being  maintained.  To  estab- 
lish a  center  a  neighborhood  has  to  develop  a  petition  with  one  hundred 
signatures,  raise  a  certain  amount  of  money,  and  promise  the  board  to 
support  the  center  long  enough  to  make  a  thorough  trial.  Nearly  one 
hundred  volunteer  workers  coming  from  the  kindergarten  association  and 
the  girls'  and  women's  clubs  are  performing  the  work.  Each  center  has 
a  council  of  its  own  made  up  of  members  from  its  own  organizations, 
and  the  local  council  sends  two  representatives  to  the  central  social 
center  council,  which  is  composed  of  these  representatives  and  the 
school  officials  immediately  concerned.  In  that  way  a  large  number  of 
people  have  become  vitally  connected  either  in  the  direction  or  mainten- 
ance of  these  centers,  and  over  90  per  cent,  of  the  attendance  at  each 
center  comes  from  within  six  blocks.  While  Louisville  has  not  enjoyed 
the  services  of  a  salaried  director,  it  has  been  most  fortunate  in  hav- 
ing in  Miss  Pauline  F.  Witherspoon  a  volunteer  who  is  an  expert  in  social 
center  organization. 

The  evening  recreation  centers  of  New  York  City  for  over  a  decade 
have  been  doing  in  the  main  precisely  what  the  social  centers  of  Chicago 
and  Detroit  have  been  doing— that  is,  inculcating  better  standards  of 
behavior  and  giving  young  people  a  wholesome  place  in  which  to  spend 
their  evenings.  They  afford  a  quiet  game  and  reading  room,  gym- 
nasiums or  indoor  play  rooms,  basket  ball,  folk  dancing,  and  kindred 
indoor  games.  Clubs  of  all  sorts  are  also  found,  as  well  as  quiet  study 
rooms  for  day-school  children.  Two-thirds  of  the  centers  are  exclusively 
for  boys  and  one-third  of  them  for  girls.  Of  late  years  the  girls  of  the 
senior  clubs  have  been  allowed  to  have  recommended  boys  from  neigh- 
boring centers  in  at  their  mixed  dances.  The  recreation  center  staffs 
have  been  most  successful  in  bringing  in  the  young  people  and  but  few 
adult  organizations  have  been  formed.  The  various  club  entertainments 
help  to  develop  an  initiative  on  the  part  of  their  members,  but  only 
occasionally  do  these  doings  have  reference  to  their  immediate  neigh- 
borhoods. The  members  of  the  staff  are  trained  mainly  in  recreational 
activities  and  club  work,  and  on  account  of  the  vacation  schools  and 
school  playgrounds  during  the  summer  months  they  have  all-year-round 
duties  in  connection  with  the  schools.  The  supervision,  now  in  the 
energetic  hands  of  Dr.  Edward  W.  Stitt,  is  highly  centralized  so  that 
naturally  a  considerable  uniformity  of  method  prevails. 

Developing  Neighborhood  Responsibility 

With  a  view  to  learning  to  what  extent  these  centers  could  be  made 
larger  factors  in  neighborhood  development  a  couple  of  rather  significant 
experiments  have  been  recently  carried  on  by  volunteer  committees  in 
several  of  the  New  York  school  buildings.  Upon  the  initiative  of  the 
People's  Institute  a  committee  composed  of  specially  interested  persons 
was  formed  to  carry  on  a  social  center  experiment  at  Public  School  63. 
Three  wealthy  citizens  provided  a  budget  of  $3,000.  The  committee 


chose  Mr.  Clinton  S.  Childs,  a  trained  social  worker,  to  become  the 
organizing  secretary.  Permission  was  secured  from  the  Board  of  Edu- 
cation to  carry  on  work  in  connection  with  the  recreation  center  staff 
at  the  school  chosen.  Mr.  Childs  became  a  resident  of  the  community 
and  the  results  of  his  work  are  now — a  year  later — plainly  visible.  In 
an  early  stage  of  his  efforts  a  mass  meeting  of  the  residents  was 
called  and  a  local  association  formed  made  up  of  volunteers  and  those 
whose  names  were  presented  by  the  people.  Gradually  more  and  more 
duties  were  placed  upon  the  local  association,  so  that  it  now  assigns 
the  use  of  the  auditorium  and  other  rooms  for  the  special  occasions 
of  the  clubs  which  meet  in  the  center  and  supervises  the  social  dances 
and  motion  picture  shows  as  well  as  other  doings  of  a  general  nature. 
From  these  activities  and  the  other  entertainments  and  the  dues  of  the 
members  the  association  raises  money  for  the  support  of  the  work. 
During  the  past  year  it  raised  about  $700.  Each  club  in  the  center  has 
a  representative  in  the  association.  This  body  has  exercised  an  im- 
portant influence  in  molding  the  policy  of  the  work.  With  the  inaugu- 
ration of  the  social  center  work  boys  were  admitted  to  the  center,  which 
had  hitherto  been  limited  to  girls.  Among  the  more  important  develop- 
ments of  the  experiment  may  be  mentioned  very  successful  social  dances 
in  the  courtyard  and  inside  playroom ;  a  people's  forum  wherein  a  local 
cloakmakers'  union  held  fourteen  largely  attended  discussions  on  the 
topic  "Agreements  Between  Employers  and  Employees'  Associations;" 
two  orchestras  encouraged  or  developed  among  the  musicians  of  the 
district;  several  partisan  political  meetings;  a  New  Year's  Eve  party; 
and  motion  picture  entertainments.  The  center  is  now  planning  a  large 
pageant  embracing  2,500  people,  in  which  the  various  races  living  in 
the  community  will  present  episodes  out  of  their  own  respective  his- 
tories. 

In  a  school  located  in  what  is  known  as  the  Greenwich  Village  dis- 
trict— one  of  the  few  old  New  York  neighborhoods  which  still  retain 
their  identity,  about  which  streams  of  ever-changing  foreign  population 
have  swirled  but  failed  to  tear  it  from  its  foundation,  a  district  which 
has  a  notably  large  proportion  of  native  born  to  foreign  born — the 
second  experiment  which  I  wish  to  describe  was  carried  on.  A  com- 
mittee of  women  connected  with  a  prominent  Fifth  Avenue  church 
near  this  district  raised  the  funds  for  employing  an  expert  social  center 
director,  Mr.  Boyd  Fisher.  He  with  one  or  two  assistants  developed  a 
social  center  undertaking  which  for  the  past  nine  months  or  more  has 
been  carried  on  by  a  local  body  known  as  the  Greenwich  Commission. 
This  organization  is  composed  of  twenty-five  members  who  are  elected 
by  all  those  adults  of  the  district  who  have  registered  at  the  center 
fourteen  days  prior  to  the  election.  This  body  employs  three  or  four 
assistants  and  raises  a  budget  through  its  entertainments,  club  dues 
and  private  contributions  of  about  $100  a  month.  Nineteen  different 
clubs  or  groups  have  been  formed.  The  largest  of  these  is  known  as 
the  Commonwealth,  and  it  refers  simply  to  the  audiences  of  citizens 


who  come  out  on  Thursday  evenings  to  listen  to  the  addresses  from 
aldermen,  state  senators,  city  officials,  and  other  speakers  who  are  asked 
to  come  in  and  discuss  the  leading  questions  of  the  day.  Each  club 
member  pays  dues,  of  five  cents  a  week,  which  are  turned  into  the  treas- 
ury of  the  Commission.  When  entertainments  are  given  35  per  cent, 
of  the  net  proceeds  are  also  given  to  the  Commission.  The  privileges 
afforded  young  people  include  boxing  instruction,  games  room,  basket 
ball  and  indoor  athletic  sports.  The  Board  of  Education  furnishes  in 
the  person  of  a  recreation  center  principal  expert  direction  of  its  recre- 
ational activities.  The  salary  of  this  worker  and  that  of  the  custodian 
are  also  provided  by  the  Board  of  Education.  In  this  undertaking  at 
Public  School  41  we  have  an  excellent  example  of  a  self-governing 
ieighborhood  social  center. 

Neighborhood  Development  Dependent  Upon  Organization 

To  summarize:  It  would  seem  that  there  are  two  fairly  distinct 
types  of  social  center  development :  The  first,  as  represented  in  Chicago 
nd  Detroit  and  the  recreation  centers  of  New  York  City,  is  characterized 
>y  the  fact  that  there  is  no  special  effort  to  organize  the  neighborhood 
nto  a  co-operative  responsible  element  in  the  government  of  the  center, 
n  selecting  activities,  those  are  provided  which  are  considered  to  be  good 
or  the  people  upon  whom  they  are  bestowed.  Administration  is  cen- 
ered  in  a  central  bureau,  and  under  the  direction  of  highly  trained 
xperts.  The  attitude  of  the  officials  is  that  of  conducting  improving 
.nd  cultural  activities  for  an  unprivileged  class  of  people. 

The  second  type  of  development  is  that  which  is  illustrated  in  vary- 
ng  degrees  by  the  work  at  Rochester,  Louisville  and  in  the  New  York 
social  centers  at  Public  School  63  and  Public  School  41.  Here  there  is 
n  the  part  of  the  promoters  a  conscious  purpose  to  develop  neighbor- 
lood  organization.  In  differing  degrees  the  neighborhoods  are  called 
ipon  to  support  and  participate  in  the  management  of  their  centers, 
n  determining  the  character  of  the  activities  the  needs  of  the  people 
.re  studied  with  an  attitude  of  detachment.  The  high-priced  directing 
.bility  and  wealth  of  initiative  tends  to  be  found  at  the  school 
ather  than  in  the  central  office.  This  more  democratic  type  of  social 
enter  calls  for  higher  ability  in  the  local  director,  it  requires  fewer 
jaid  assistants  and  shows  a  marked  tendency  to  maintain  such  self- 
upporting  activities  as  social  dancing  and  motion  picture  entertain- 
nents. 

There  is  a  feeling  abroad,  sometimes  expressed  but  more  generally 
atent,  that  social  centers  tend  to  withdraw  young  people  from  parental 
nfluence.  When  considering  what  type  of  social  center  administration 
s  to  be  preferred,  should  not  this  fact  be  borne  in  mind?  Certainly  that 
not  a  worthy  ideal  which  contemplates  merely  giving  out  culture 
>r  wholesome  recreational  opportunities  or  a  finer  type  of  social  life 
vithout  endeavoring  at  the  same  time  to  develop  the  ability  of  the  peo- 


pie  to  provide  the  same  things  for  themselves.  Are  we  performing 
our  full  duty  if  we  do  not  develop  in  the  parents'  minds  the  same  ideals 
for  their  young  people  which  we  ourselves  hold?  If  we  do  not  give  them 
the  experience  of  sharing  in  the  work  and  the  direction  of  the  social 
center  will  they  be  able  to  give  as  taxpayers  an  intelligent  financial 
support  to  it?  If  we  do  not  enlist  the  co-operation  of  neighborhoods  in 
the  management  of  their  own  centers  will  not  the  opportunities  they 
provide  tend  to  be  used  more  and  more  exclusively  by  the  less  privileged 
classes  and  the  democratic  scope  of  the  institution  be  thus  seriously 
impaired? 

If  in  the  self-governing  centers  the  programs  do  not  run  off  so 
smoothly  nor  the  activities  appear  so  well  regulated  as  they  do  in  the 
other  centers  we  may  well  console  ourselves  with  the  thought  that  "self 
government  is  better  than  good  government." 


10 


Wider  Use  of  the  School 
Plant 


By  CLARENCE  ARTHUR  PERRY 


CONTENTS 

I  THE  WIDER  USE 

II  EVENING  SCHOOLS 

III  EVENING  SCHOOLS  ABROAD 

IV  THE  PROMOTION  OF  ATTENDANCE  AT  EVENING  SCHOOLS 
V  VACATION  SCHOOLS 

VI  SCHOOL  PLAYGROUNDS 

VII  PUBLIC  LECTURES  AND  ENTERTAINMENTS 

VIII  EVENING  RECREATION  CENTERS 

IX  SOCIAL  CENTERS 

X  ORGANIZED  ATHLETICS,  GAMES  AND  FOLK  DANCING 

XI  MEETINGS  IN  SCHOOL  HOUSES 

XII  SOCIAL  BETTERMENT  THROUGH  WIDER  USE 

"The  'Wider  Use'  has  been  a  text-book  for  me 
in  starting  the  work  here."— MlSS  PAULINE  F. 
WlTHERSPOON,  Organizer  and  Supervisor  of  Social 
Centers,  Louisville,  Ky. 

"It  is  the  result  of  a  long  and  diligent  gathering 
of  facts,  the  presentation  of  which  will  surprise  most 
readers,  no  doubt,  and  at  the  same  time  impress  them 
with  the  exceeding  reasonableness  of  their  signifi- 
cance."—  The  Literary  Digest. 

3rd  Edition  423  Pages  51  Illustrations  Full  Index 

Price,  Postpaid,  $1.25 

Send  orders  to  the  Publishers 

THE  SURVEY  ASSOCIATES,  INC. 

105  EAST  22ND  STREET,  NEW  YORK  CITY 


F 


AN  INITIAL  FINE  OF  25  CENTS 

OVERDUE. 


tnent  of 


adejorthe  purpose 
par/men/ 


>f  Speakers  and 
Lectures  in 

s.  Perry.  36  pp. 


Rec.  129  Independence  Day  Leg- 
islation and  Celebration  Sug- 
gestions. Hanmer.  36pp.  lOcts. 


ler  Features 
ary  School  Ar- 
.  48  pp.  25  cts. 


il    Centers    of 
.    8  pp.    5  cts. 

Inag  in  Social 
n.  Perry.   8  pp. 


LD  21-20m-5,'39 (9269s)     /  School    as  a 
/  r eiry.      j  I  pp. 


Rec.  142    The  School  as  a  Factor  m 
Neighborhood    Development. 

Perry.    8  pp.     5  cts. 


Gay  lord 

Make 

Syracuse,  1 
PIT.  JAM.  21, 


Perry 
School  as 


neighborhood  development. 
20  1024' 


JUL  so  i 


16  1P^>r 
JUL  13  192II/ 


IMJQ  101' 
SEP  10 


19cO 


305776 
factor 


in 


LC231 
P3 


iUG 


•-.. 


-^ 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


